Update content/_index.md

config.toml

@@ -22,10 +22,6 @@ feed_filenames = ["rss.xml"] # This will be at /ru/rss.xml
 build_search_index = true
 
 
-[markdown]
-highlight_code = false
-
-
 [extra]
 # We now define navigation links for each language
 header_nav = [

content/_index.md

@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ you can always email me at [finonmoon@gmail.com](mailto:finonmoon@gmail.com). my
 i also have a blog. you can find the recent blogposts below. you also can subscribe to my [rss feed](./rss.xml)
 
 # Recent blogposts
- > [the strangeness of applying to us colleges](./blog/usappweird)
+- [piracy](./blog/piracy)
+- [The Legal Tradition of South Africa](./blog/salaw)
+- [ecosystems](./blog/ecosystems)
 
 #### [all posts](./blog)

content/blog/2024-09-14-piracy.md

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
++++
+date = 2024-09-14
+title = "🏴‍☠️piracy🏴‍☠️"
+[extra]
+toc = true
++++
+
+> _note: this post is translated from russan, but other than a few examples used in it, it is still relevant_
+
+so, i've wanted to write about online piracy for a while, and i've finally gotten around to it, so here is my take on the moral side of this issue. it's important to note that this is a question of morality, and specifically the one that has formed in my mind over the last 2.5 years. i'll say right away that any piracy is, one way or another, always on the verge of theft, and according to the "general rule" in my head, it's a bad thing. this is because the author generally has certain rights to control their creations after they are released
+
+# 0. the foundation.
+i want to immediately note that in this case, we'll be talking primarily about the internet, or to be more precise, a part of it - the world wide web (hereafter, the web). at the same time, i want to point out that the concept of the open web, i.e., a free web, is very important to me personally. i believe the internet is a place of freedom, and it's extremely important that no one (including the state) can centralize the web around themselves. i also believe the internet should be a place for everyone, giving each person the opportunity to express themselves on it. you can read the [open web manifesto](https://openwebsitealliance.org/charter.html#open-web-manifesto:~:text=four%20weeks%20notice.-,Appendix%20I%3A%20Open%20Web%20Manifesto,-The%20following%20is) and the [free software definition](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html.en) if you're interested. because of all this and more, there are situations in which piracy becomes justified
+
+# 1. it is always moral to pirate adobe software.
+what's so special about adobe? this phrase, of course, refers to adobe applications, but it actually covers a much wider range of things, including windows, microsoft office, autodesk revit, and others. what all these programs have in common is that they are de-facto monopolists in their markets and either became so by actively resorting to anti-competitive behavior or turned to it after capturing the market, preventing new competitors from emerging. for example, adobe actively engages in practices like deceptive subscriptions that are very, very difficult to cancel ([ftc press release](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/06/ftc-takes-action-against-adobe-executives-hiding-fees-preventing-consumers-easily-cancelling), [pdf of the lawsuit](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/040-UnredactedComplaint.pdf)), and it recently nearly [absorbed](https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/18/24005996/adobe-figma-acquisition-abandoned-termination-fee) one of its main competitors, figma. and microsoft, for instance, is known for a strategy called embrace, extend, and extinguish (i think it's clear enough), which they used to destroy certain free standards ([article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish)). as you can imagine, those who pull stunts like these don't adhere to any standards themselves, and therefore, it can be argued that they are stealing your right to a free web and often your right to choose an alternative, which means you generally have the right to pirate their software. the issue is that by doing so, you are de-facto reinforcing their monopoly, which is why i insist that before you pirate photoshop or windows, you think about whether a free alternative really isn't suitable for you (it might be true that it isn't, but it's likely that an alternative, at least one worth considering, exists). important: not every large company necessarily falls into this category
+
+# 2. abandonware.
+[this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandonware) is a category of software that was originally distributed online under a [proprietary license](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software) but was later abandoned by its developers and can now only be obtained through piracy. in my opinion, in this case, the right to access information, combined with the principle of an open web, outweighs the developer's right to control what other people do with copies of their original code, especially given that from a material point of view, it doesn't matter to the developer whether you get the software through piracy or simply don't get it at all. therefore, pirating such software is moral. i'll also briefly touch on copies here, as it needs to be mentioned, but i have neither the energy to write nor a fully formed position on all of copyright law. from what i've already written, you can tell that i don't have a major problem with copying content online if i don't have a problem with pirating it. but there are at least two other scenarios i'm fine with: copying that, from the author's perspective, is equivalent to no copying at all (for example, the internet archive, as a library, bought a book, made a digital copy of it, and allows one person at a time to use that copy while the original is not in use. i condemn this [u.s. court decision](https://artreview.com/the-internet-archive-lawsuit-marks-an-ending-opinion-michelle-santiago-cortes/)), as well as copying related to the historical preservation of information until it reaches abandonware status, at which point it can be distributed quite freely again
+
+# 3. science is not only for the rich.
+pirating scientific articles is good and right. just like that, plain and simple, with almost no caveats. why? if you've ever been on google scholar, you've probably seen that many articles cost around $20 or even more if you don't have a university account. well, in the vast majority of cases, that money [won't go](https://danielroelfs.com/blog/the-money-in-scientific-publishing/) to the scientist who wrote the article; instead, it will go to the journal and, perhaps, some publishers. what's more, the scientist also has to pay anywhere from a few hundred up to $10,000 for publication. so unless it's a small journal you want to support, or a unique agreement between the journal and the scientist that you're aware of - pirate away. the situation with textbooks is a bit more complicated, as authors do receive some royalties, but in general, especially if it's not a new textbook, i don't see a major problem with pirating them either, especially if the publisher doesn't provide a decent electronic version of the textbook or a proper app for it. but another idea fits well here: if you want to support educators, scientists, or anyone else, it's often better to just donate to them directly—they'll simply get more, and you'll spend less
+
+# 4. government as usual.
+if something is made with taxpayer money and is not free and is not distributed under an open license or placed in the public domain - it's a scam. feel free to pirate it all, because public money should be used to create things that benefit the public in as many ways as possible
+
+# 5. ads that run the world.
+in my opinion, ad blocking falls under piracy because you are bypassing the creator's requirement for accessing their content, thereby depriving them of their earnings, especially when even maintaining a simple, existing one-page website without updates will cost the creator at least $30 a year just for the domain and the simplest server on a cheap host. meanwhile, on a platform like vk, for example, the average cost per ad impression is about [10 kopecks](https://popsters.ru/blog/post/svezhie-dannye-o-vk#:~:text=%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%20%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%20%D0%92%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B5%2C%20%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA,%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9%20%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BC%D1%8B%20E%2Dpromo.), which correlates pretty well with the rest of the russian internet. consequently, if you visit a site and just block ads without a second thought - that's problematic. does this mean ads should never be blocked? no, i see a few exceptions that justify ad blocking. first, we can go back to point 1 and monopolies. if you can only order a taxi on, say, [yandex taxi], and it also shows you ads - block the hell out of them. the second point is broken promises. if there's a platform like [twitter] that makes a series of demands on you and then shows you ads for online casinos and even worse things ([click](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/x-users-fed-up-with-constant-stream-of-malicious-crypto-ads/)) - blocking is also justified in my view. but again, maybe it's worth looking for an alternative and supporting developers who respect you, instead of driving traffic to a bad site
+
+## 5.1. youtube.
+i think this is a fairly unique place on the internet, as it's one of the few major platforms that allows content creators to actually earn money from built-in ads, since youtube takes [45%](https://www.thinkific.com/blog/youtube-money-per-view/#:~:text=YouTube%20keeps%2045%25%20of%20the,your%20niche%2C%20and%20your%20location.) for itself, while the rest goes to the youtubers (there might be others taking a cut, like producers, but that's not youtube's doing). accordingly, i genuinely believe that in this case, if you really watch a lot of youtube, premium is actually a good thing for both the people you watch and for you. but, then again, youtube regularly shows less-than-great ads, failing to moderate them properly, so to some extent, i also understand the position of those who prefer to block ads. and plus, let's not forget that buying premium is difficult right now, which i've mentioned and will mention again
+
+# 6. are y'all entertained?
+music, movies, books, and games, as well as all other forms of classic entertainment in that vein. is it moral to pirate them? usually - no. the essence of creative professions is to engage an audience, and these are precisely the professions that can suffer greatly when their works are de-facto stolen. and even when we're talking about big studios - a studio can't just take your photograph and use it in their film without your consent. nevertheless, i believe that everyone, regardless of their background and so on, has a right to access culture. this is a large part of the function of a free web - to give everyone equal access to public life, regardless of who they are. consequently, if the only way to get access to something is piracy, then it is justified. [here is an example](https://www.indy100.com/gaming/ultrakill-arsi-hakita-patala-pirating) of an indie game developer (who seem to be one of the most vulnerable groups in this regard) discussing this very topic, where they make a very interesting point: a purchase isn't the only way to support developers; telling your friends about the game and many other forms of support are also valid. it turns out that the inability to pay for access to culture (for any reason) is a sufficient argument to engage in piracy. you just need to be honest with yourself about whether you truly can't pay and, if so, whether you can support someone's work in other ways
+
+# 7. emulate that nintendo, now!
+let me say this right away - [emulating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emulation) something is not piracy in and of itself. if it's done for the preservation of something that could be lost, to expand access to information for those who truly couldn't access it otherwise, and for a whole ton of other legitimate reasons - it's a good and useful thing. so yes - fuck nintendo ([one](https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/4/24090357/nintendo-yuzu-emulator-lawsuit-settlement), [two](https://www.thegamer.com/a-snapshot-of-nintendos-convoluted-legal-history/)) and apple ([one](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/11/22620014/apple-corellium-security-virtual-iphone-dmca-lawsuit-settled)), and everyone else who tries to sue emulators
+
+# 8. conclusion.
+so, as you can probably guess, there are a whole bunch of different cases and variations of how piracy can exist on the web, and i don't plan on dissecting all of them here, but i think my logic is more or less clear. if you've actually read this far - wow, thank you

content/blog/2026-02-05-usappweird

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
++++
+title = "the weirdness of Applying to US Colleges"
+date = 2026-02-05
++++
+
+context:
+> i am applying to several universities abroad, including in the us. the us has a specific quirk: most universities require that if you’ve already started studying elsewhere, you must apply as a transfer student—where the odds of admission are significantly lower. however, a few schools (like amherst and dartmouth) allow you to waive your previous credits and apply as a fresh-start "first-year." i’ve already submitted my applications there, while my transfer applications are still in the works.
+
+_my thoughts_
+
+all in all, the applications i’ve already submitted took about a hundred hours—not counting the two days i spent in kazakhstan just to take the sat. in that time, i’ve written about a dozen different essays, drafted five recommendation letters, answered roughly 200 questions, dug through every financial document imaginable, and prepared an absurd number of random facts about my life. in a word: reflection.
+
+applying to most other countries feels like a checklist:
+- in russia, you get a certain score on the exam, and you’re either cut or accepted based on a simple spreadsheet. or you check the boxes for the right olympiads.
+- in germany or the netherlands, you prove you meet formal gpa requirements (sometimes these are converted into a local scale and, again, filtered by a spreadsheet).
+- in japan, they evaluate essays and recommendations, but there’s a clear formula published on their official websites.
+- in south korea, you present specific facts—sometimes compensating for one weakness with another strength—and you’re in.
+
+in all of these systems, you can engage in straightforward optimization. you can grind for 1000 hours to get a perfect exam score. you can optimize your gpa. you can target specific olympiads. there are clear rubrics for your essays.
+
+but the us is different. they use a principle called holistic review. essentially, it’s an attempt to look at you from every possible angle:
+- they don’t have a hard minimum sat score.
+- they aren’t looking for a "magic" set of words in your essay.
+- they aren’t looking for a "perfect" extracurricular activity.
+
+instead, they look for "spiky" students. they don’t want a room full of identical straight-a students from "perfect" families and elite schools. they need those people, too, but they’d rather balance them out with a guy from hungary who has a unique perspective on authoritarianism, or someone from a low-income background with a fascinating eye for art, or a first-generation college student.
+
+of course, you can try to "optimize" for this, too. but while other systems require you to study a machine so you can fit into its gears, the us process is a two-way street: you have to open yourself up and let the machine see everything inside. "optimization" here means connecting the dots—weaving a "red thread" through your life’s disparate facts.
+
+you’re telling a story. you’re trying—and yes, it’s cringe—to build a "personal brand." you’re trying to create something that will actually stick in the mind of the small committee reviewing thousands of files.
+
+to tell that story, you have to understand it yourself. instead of just ticking boxes, you compile a list of everything you’ve achieved, and then you analyze it—and by extension, yourself—to see how it all fits together. why does your resume look so eclectic? why are you talking about computer engineering while studying law? why do you build servers and play dnd in your spare time?
+
+the simple answer is "i just like it." but you’re expected to ask "why?"—and then keep asking "why?" until you hit something deeper.
+
+in the end, you aren't just spending hours on essays and forms; you’re spending every lunch break and every night before bed in a state of constant self-reflection. finally, you reach your conclusions, finish the essays, nudge your recommenders to finally upload their letters, and re-read your application for the 1000th time—eventually losing the "cringe" feeling of praising yourself. then, you hit "submit" in the common app.
+
+but it doesn't end there. next comes the financial aid application. us aid is often "need-based," sometimes guaranteeing to cover 100% of your demonstrated need. this means you now have to open up the financial side of your life for the university to scrutinize.
+
+after six months of self-praise and deep analysis of your identity and goals, you are suddenly plunged back into the heavy reality of daily life. you’re hunting down tax forms and bank statements, all while staring at the massive barriers between you and the future you just described in your application. it’s a very strange sensation.
+
+conclusion:
+the "weirdness" of this process is that, under the guise of a college application, you end up exposing both your greatest strengths and your deepest vulnerabilities. you’ve essentially laid out a complete map of your life.
+
+it is rare in daily life to create such a detailed, systematized document that captures your entire worldview. it requires massive mental labor—thinking through every detail without getting lost in the weeds—knowing this document will soon fly off to a stranger at a university.
+
+maybe universities ask too much. we aren't used to opening up this much to strangers, and usually for good reason.
+
+but at the same time, i don’t see any other way to account for "distance traveled." a simple set of test scores only shows a static snapshot of a candidate. it doesn't tell the whole story.
+
+it’s hard to argue that a 1480 sat score from a native speaker in chicago—who spent years in a private prep school, took the test four times, and was driven to the test center by their parents—is the same as a 1480 from someone who flew to a foreign country at their own expense, took the test once with jetlag in an unfamiliar city, and wrote it in their second language.
+
+i can’t think of any other system that does a better job of giving outliers a chance. i don't know if i’ll get an offer or not, but i definitely don't regret the experience.
+it is hard to argue with the fact that 1480 on the sat from a native english speaker from near chicago, who was prepared for the exam for years at a private school, who had 3-4 attempts and was driven to a familiar place by parents in the morning and 1480 on the sat from someone who had to fly to a new country at their own expense without the ability to work with a tutor and in an unfamiliar city with jetlag and knowing there is only one attempt, writing the same exam in a foreign language.
+
+i can't think of a different system that can give opportunities to outliers.
+
+i don’t know if i’ll get an offer or not, but i definitely do not regret having had this experience

content/blog/2026-02-05-usappweird.md

@@ -1,60 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title = "the strangeness of applying to us colleges"
-date = 2026-02-05
-+++
-
-**context:**
-> i am applying to various foreign universities, including in the us. in the states there is a quirk where the vast majority of universities have a rule that if you’ve started studying at another university, you can only apply via the transfer procedure, where chances are notably worse. however, there are universities where you can refuse credits and apply as a freshman (amherst and dartmouth). my applications there are already submitted, while transfer applications are still being prepared
-
-**my thoughts.**
-
-all in all the applications already submitted took me about a hundred hours not counting two days in kazakhstan to take the sat. during that time about a dozen different essays were written, another 5 recommendation letters drafted, some 200 questions answered, every possible financial document dug up, and an unreal amount of random facts prepared. put simply: self-reflection happened
-
-applying to most other countries represents an attempt to tick many boxes on a specific list:
-- in russia you score n points on the unified state exam which are then used to cut you off by a very simple spreadsit. or you tick boxes next to the necessary olympiads
-- in germany or the netherlands you demonstrate that you meet their formal requirements regarding gpa (in some cases this is translated into numbers and also simply cut off by a spreadshit)
-- in japan they evaluate both essays and recommendations, but there is a simple formula published on the official website
-- in south korea you demonstrate certain facts (in some cases compensating for one with another) and you get in
-
-one way or another in each of these systems you can engage in simple and clear optimization. you can kill 1000 hours and score 100 points on the exam. you can optimize your gpa. you can write the necessary olympiads. you have criteria for grading essays
-
-but in the states it’s not like that. instead there is a principle they call holistic review. to describe what that is, it is their attempt to look at you in the most comprehensive way possible:
-- they don't set a specific minimum score for the sat
-- they don't need a specific set of magic words in the essay
-- they don't look for an ideal format of extracurricular activities
-
-instead they look for "spiky" students. not a room full of straight-a students from ideal families and best schools. they need those too. but they would prefer to also have a guy from hungary who can bring an interesting example of authoritarianism, someone from a poor family with an interesting view on art, someone becoming the first in the family to get higher education.
-
-of course you can "optimize" for this too. but only if in other cases it’s about carefully studying the machine and fitting into it, in the us this process is two-way: you open yourself up and allow the machine to see everything there. and "optimization" in this context means primarily the correct stringing of red threads and hanging notes between facts.
-
-you are telling a story. trying, oh cringe, to build a "personal brand". to do something that will make you specifically stick in the mind of that small committee reviewing every application.
-
-but to tell that story you have to understand it well. instead of ticking boxes you try to compile a list of things you can brag about, and then analyze it, and thus yourself, to see how it comes together. what led to such diverse things being on your resume? why do you talk about computer engineering but study law? why do you build servers and play dnd in your spare time?
-
-yes, of course there is a very simple answer: you just like it. but you are expected to ask "why" further. why do you like it?
-
-and in the end it turns out that besides spending a lot of time directly working on essays, questions and forms, you also reflect on yourself every day before bed, at lunch and in class.
-
-and so you come to some conclusions, finish writing all essays, nag everyone who needs to upload recommendations, reread the application for the 1000th time no longer feeling cringe at how you praise yourself. and hit the "submit" button in the common app
-
-but the process doesn't end there: ahead is another separate application for financial aid. very often need based aid is provided, frequently guaranteeing full coverage of need. and that means now you will be occupied with opening up this part of your life for the financial aid office to study.
-
-after spending the previous six months praising yourself and deep analysis of who you are and who you want to be, you suddenly start diving into heavy everyday life. preparing documents, looking for every possible paper, while thinking about the huge barriers between you and what you described in the initial application.
-
-it feels very strange.
-
-**conclusion:**
-
-the whole strangeness of this process lies in the fact that under the guise of applying to university you showed both your strong and vulnerable sides, de facto laying out a very, very complete perspective of your life.
-
-it is very rare in everyday life that you suddenly lay out before yourself a detailed and systematized document showing a wide view of your life. for it you did huge mental work, spending a lot of time thinking about every detail, without diving into every hole, since then this document will fly off to a reviewer at the university.
-
-maybe universities demand too much. we aren't used to opening up so widely to strangers. and there are good reasons for that.
-
-but at the same time i just don't see another way to account for not just a random set of parameters that better or worse show the static state of an individual candidate, but a whole picture in which "distance traveled" is visible.
-
-it is hard to argue with the fact that 1480 on the sat from a native english speaker from near chicago, who was prepared for the exam for years at a private school, who had 3-4 attempts and was driven to a familiar place by parents in the morning and 1480 on the sat from someone who had to fly to a new country at their own expense without the ability to work with a tutor and in an unfamiliar city with jetlag and knowing there is only one attempt, writing the same exam in a foreign language.
-
-i can't think of a different system that can give opportunities to outliers.
-
-i don’t know if i’ll get an offer or not, but i definitely do not regret having had this experience